In certain areas of the country, such as Central and North Florida, winter weather gets cold enough to require early morning heating, typically between the hours of 7 Am to 11 Am, and the practice has been to heat with electric heaters. When great numbers of said electric heaters are used simultaneously, a large peak power demand is created such that near brownout conditions can occur. The purpose of the invention is to allow the utility to shift the direct on-line early morning heat load to the previous night when power is readily available, by providing small heaters which store electric heat in suitable thermal media, and then deliver the heat to a room or area of a room as needed during the morning hours, under control of self contained adjustable thermostats. U.S. Pat. No. 4,686,959 is an example of a prior thermal storage furnace system for that purpose.
The small heaters may be used in multiple with one being plugged into a normal 15 amp wall circuit operating at 120 volts alternating current. The storage and discharge modes of the heaters, which can also be used as conventional heaters, are remotely controlled by the utility by the use of a device installed on or in, or near each heater.